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Batman: Return Of The Caped Crusaders Gets Limited Theatrical Release

The upcoming Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders animated movie is based on the 1960s live-action Batman TV series and cheerfully embraces the same campy tone as its predecessor, judging by the trailers released for the film thus far. Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar are returning to voice the roles that originally made them stars on the '60s Batman TV series as, respectively, Batman, Robin and Catwoman.

It was previously reported that Return of the Caped Crusaders will be premiering at the 2016 New York Comic-Con, on October 6th to be exact. However, Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Entertainment have now revealed plans to give the animated movie a limited theatrical release too - for a single day.

Announced by WB and theatrical-streaming company Fathom Events, Return of The Caped Crusaders will play in select U.S. theaters on Monday, October 10th with showtimes of 2:00pm, 7:30pm and 10:00pm. It will then be released in digital HD the following day and to Blu-ray and DVD on November 1st. In addition to the film, audiences will also be shown a new featurette about the lasting pop-culture impact of the Batman franchise's villains, titled "Those Dastardly Desperados".

New voice actors will step into the roles of The Joker, The Penguin and The Riddler for Return of the Caped Crusaders, with original Batman TV show actors Cesar Romero, Burgess Meredith and Frank Gorshin having previously passed away. The film, which aims to recreate the look and feel of the original 1966-68 series but on a larger scale than possible for mid-60s television budgets, was in part inspired by the success of the similarly nostalgia-themed comic series Batman '66.

The 1960s Batman series was initially conceived as a send-up of the infamous WWII-era Batman & Robin movie serials but became something closer to a pop-art satire in production. Batman's exploits (and his enemies' crimes) would often serve as exaggerated takes on social and cultural reference-points of the day. The series was also responsible for reviving the popular of characters like Catwoman, Mr. Freeze and Penguin while also creating the character of Barbara "Batgirl" Gordon.

Return of the Caped Crusadershas been in development since at least March 2015, arriving on the heels of another animated DC feature in Batman: The Killing Joke - a film that did strong business at the box office, during its own limited theatrical release. However, whereas the the animated Killing Joke movie proved to be as controversial (if not more) than its (in)famous source material, Return of the Caped Crusaders is shaping up to be some welcome light-hearted fun and a good revival of Batman's more playful side.

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders plays in select U.S. theaters on Monday, October 10th, 2016 (you can buy tickets HERE). It will be released in digital HD a day later on October 11th and arrives on DVD/Blu-ray on November 1st, 2016.